Erosional and Depositional Features along the Axis of a Canyon in the Northern South China Sea and Their Implications: Insights from High-Resolution AUV-Based Geophysical Data

Abstract

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)-based multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiles, and side-scan sonar images were collected in 2009 and 2010 to map the geomorphic features along the axial zone of a canyon (referred to as C4) within the canyon system developed on the northern slope of the South China Sea. These data significantly improved the spatial resolution of acoustic data, leading to a better understanding of the sedimentary processes within the modern canyon system. The bathymetric data reveal that sections across the canyon axis exhibit either asymmetrical or symmetrical characteristics, which differ from the overall asymmetrical pattern of the entire canyon. This suggests that the overall asymmetrical pattern of the canyon is not primarily due to axial incision. Various morphological elements were identified along the canyon axis, including failure scars, undulating features, knickpoints, flat terraces, furrows, and mass transport deposits (MTDs). Landslides, predominantly located in the upper canyon, were formed after at least 5000 years BP. Between the beginning of the canyon and a water depth of approximately 1300 m, there are alternating flat terraces and knickpoints. The large knickpoints’ low slope gradients are likely formed by the presence of undulating features. The internal configurations of undulating features suggest that they are depositional structures rather than sediment deformation. The formation of small-scale furrows below a depth of 1200 m may be associated with occasional gravity flows down the canyon. It is suggested that the canyon was generally inactive during the Holocene but experienced sporadic processes of sediment erosion, transport, and re-deposition in the axial zone that were triggered by landslide events occasionally in the upper canyon.

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